STROUDSBURG – Down to their final out in the ninth inning, the No. 7/9th-ranked East Stroudsburg University baseball rallied to tie the game before ultimately defeating Bloomsburg, 6-5, in 11 innings in the PSAC East series opener on a picture-perfect Friday afternoon at Creekview Park.
The Warriors recorded their 30th win of the season, moving to 30-5 overall and 11-2 in the PSAC East while the Huskies dropped to 16-13 on the year and 8-8 in the conference.
Bloomsburg held a 4-2 lead over ESU with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning until
Mike Kelly and
Ben Piripavel delivered back-to-back RBI singles to even the score.
The Huskies responded by retaking the lead in the top of the 10th inning at 5-4, but an RBI base hit from
Jack Rothenhausler deadlocked the game once again.
After holding Bloomsburg at bay in the top of the 11th inning, the Warriors loaded the bases in the bottom half of the frame with a chance to secure a come-from-behind victory. Following a strikeout, Rothenhausler rolled a ball up the middle but as Huskies went to turn a double play, the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag which allowed Kelly to score the winning run.
Additionally in the bottom half of the inning, Kelly broke the Warriors' single-season record for steals with 141 and counting. ESU came into today's game ranked second in NCAA Division II for stolen bases and have three individuals with 20+ steals through 35 games including Piripavel (27),
Matt Ervolina (27) and Kelly (23).
Notables
- Rothenhausler paced the Warriors offensively as the junior finished 2-for-6 with his fourth home run of the season, three RBI and a run scored
- Kelly totaled a pair of hits as well as one RBI and run scored a piece
- Piripavel and Ervolina both went 1-for-4 with one walk and RBI, while Parker Frey and Tim Haverstick each had a base hit. Piripavel added a run and reached base for the 23rd consecutive game.
- Senior Logan Stirr delivered a pinch hit leadoff double in the bottom of the 10th inning to help the Warriors tie the game at 5-5
- Back-to-back PSAC East and NCBWA Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week Chase Nowak earned the no-decision after throwing 4.0 innings, yielding three runs on four hits while striking out five. The ESU was bullpen lockdown over the final 7.0 innings as Nick McAullife (2.0 innings, one strikeout), Tom Reisinger (1.0 inning, two strikeouts), Jaden Newton (1.0 inning, two strikeouts), Scott Shamany (1.0 inning) and Mike Yates (1.0 inning) combined to surrender two runs on five hits. Yates (1-0) collected his first victory of the season and appeared in his 58th career game which ranks sixth all-time.
- Today's walk-off win was the second of the season for the Warriors as ESU defeated Saint Rose in similar fashion back on February 20
- In this week's polls, ESU moved up two spots to No. 9 in the College Baseball Division Top 30 and claimed the top spot in the NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll, receiving all 11 first-place votes. The Warriors climbed to No. 9 in the NCBWA Top 25 and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the Perfect Game Top 25.
How it Happened – ESU 6, Bloomsburg 5
The Huskies grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of third inning as Anthony Viggiano belted a solo home run to right field with two outs.
With one out in the top of fourth inning, Carter Chasanov singled and Brandon Ernst followed with a blast over the left field fence to stretch Bloomsburg's advantage to 3-0.
ESU got one run back in the home half of the inning as Piripavel crossed home plate to cut the Warriors deficit to 3-1. Leading off, Piripavel was hit by a pitch and stole second base before racing home on an RBI single from Ervolina.
Bloomsburg regained a three-run lead in the top of the seventh inning when Eli Riley poked a solo home run to right center field to make the score 4-1.
The Warriors answered right back in the bottom half of the inning as Rothenhausler led off the frame with a solo home run to center field to get ESU back within two runs at 4-2.
Down to their last at-bats, ESU used three hits and a walk to plate two runs which tied the game at 4-4. With two outs and runners on first and second, Kelly singled up the middle to score pinch runner
Tanner Vicendese to get the Warriors within one. Following a pitching change, Piripavel delivered an RBI single to even the score.
In the 10th inning, Bloomsburg regained the lead at 5-4 on a sacrifice fly from Wyatt Meztger in the top of the frame, but the Warriors answered right back as Rothenhausler drove in a run to tie the score once again at 5-5.
After a scoreless top of the 11th inning for Bloomsburg, the Warriors plated the game-winning run in the bottom half of the inning to make the final score 6-5. ESU loaded the bases with no outs following a throwing error by Bloomsburg and walks to Piripavel and Ervolina.
Up Next
Due to forecasts of impending weather, the PSAC East doubleheader between East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg at Danny Litwhiler Field has been moved to Sunday. First pitch is still scheduled for noon.
